Uncontrolled electrostatic discharge (ESD) is known as a major cause of malfunctioning of electrical equipment. A semiconductor device may e.g. be susceptible to damage when a large current transient, provided to one if its pins (e.g., IO pin, input pin, output pin, supply pin), is injected into the semiconductor substrate and permanently damage semiconductor components of the device. A semiconductor device is therefore usually provided with an ESD protection circuit which may to some extent protect the semiconductor device against ESD.